An Ontario judge has signed an order committing Gregory Ellis of Toronto to be extradited to the U.S. to face charges in connection with an alleged international penny stock ring that pulled $140 million from investors.
Justice Wailan Low of the Superior Court of Justice signed the order following a hearing on Friday.
Ellis, who represented himself during the hearing, said he was “a victim of circumstances,” and that he believed he was hired to do legitimate call centre work.
“I don’t have too much to say,” he told the court. “I was hired for a legitimate purpose. I’m a victim of not knowing the full scheme. I don’t believe this is enough evidence to convict me.”
In an extradition proceeding, the presiding judge does not weigh the evidence in the case, but considers whether it would be sufficient to lay charges in Canada if the events had taken place here.
The judge also needs to be satisfied that the person being extradited is the same person being sought by foreign authorities.
The U.S. Department of Justice alleges that Ellis was among four Canadians and five Americans involved in a criminal conspiracy to defraud penny stock investors.
The other Canadians charged are Sandy Winick, Greg Curry, and his son Kolt Curry. All are in jail in the U.S. awaiting trial. Winick and Greg Curry were arrested by FBI agents in Thailand last summer after initially evading authorities. U.S. authorities allege the complex operation is one of the largest in history. They claim it included a pump and dump scheme where share prices were inflated and then dumped on unsuspecting investors, as well as an advance fee scheme that involved persuading investors to pay for services in connection with selling their stocks or pay taxes on the proceeds. “There is more than some evidence Mr. Ellis took part in a conspiracy to defraud investors,” Heather Graham, counsel for the Department of Justice, told the court. Kolt Curry is now co-operating with U.S. authorities and providing details, according to documents filed during the hearing. An undercover officer who worked on the case is prepared to testify that he met Curry and Ellis at an office in Canada, according to the documents. During the meeting, Curry worked out call scripts and Ellis talked about how he defrauded the same victim previously and planned to defraud him again with the same scheme, the officer alleges. Ellis didn’t react when the judge gave her decision. A few moments later, he turned to look at two supporters in the courtroom and shook his head. Ellis, who is being held in custody in Toronto, has 30 days to appeal the order.
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